My 1988 e30 325ix - Garage'd

[jeenyus]

I got these.


They will go on this.

[jeenyus]

...and they did. Huge improvement.

[TehRaydarlover]

Nice, what brand are those?

[jeenyus]

Nice, what brand are those?

Ireland Engineering

http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/E30-suspension-steering/e30alummt.html

[jeenyus]

Took a picture of my car. Snow is finally falling in UT.

[jeenyus]

I am getting a lot of noise right now out of my release bearing (high pitched squealing) and so I have to replace the clutch I believe. While I am in there I was planning on replacing my selector rod and install a short shifter. Is there anything else I should replace "while I am in there"? I was thinking maybe the driveshaft guido...

How hard is it to do the clutch job on the IX? I have a friend who has done the clutch on an RWD, but not an AWD and I am curious as to what major differences we'd run into?

Thank a ton guys.

[rzerob]

It is the same except you have a transfer case to deal with. The front drive shaft is easy to remove and should not need an explanation. There are four 17mm bolts that connect the transfer case to the manual transmission. The two below are easy to remove. The top two were easy for me but some people have issues. I used a 3/8" drive 17mm swivel socket and a 12" extension from the top inside the car down the hole the shifter comes in. They always came right out for me.

There is also a guibo that connects to the transmission and transfer case. You will see it while you are under there. I believe they are 19mm, I just used two 19mm wrenches and took off one bolt at a time. After that is all off the transfer case will come off and you are basically the same as a RWD E30 from there. I only mentioned things that are different compared to the RWD E30. Obviously there is more to it but if your friend has done a RWD E30 those should be the only things that are different.

It is not difficult. While you are in there consider replacing your seals on the transmission and your RMS. Also search "E30 sloppy shifter" that should give you an idea of the things to replace for you shifter.

Replacing your clutch and all of the parts listed is not difficult at all for anyone who has the experience. Even without the experience you could figure it out it would just take a little longer. Things that will help you complete this job faster and easier are impact gun, lift, transmission jack, plenty of tools and a helper. But they are not needed I have removed the transmission and transfer case in around 3 hours with jacks, jack stands, hand tools and I did it by myself. Don't be intimidated by it. Good luck and be safe.

[jeenyus]

It is the same except you have a transfer case to deal with. The front drive shaft is easy to remove and should not need an explanation. There are four 17mm bolts that connect the transfer case to the manual transmission. The two below are easy to remove. The top two were easy for me but some people have issues. I used a 3/8" drive 17mm swivel socket and a 12" extension from the top inside the car down the hole the shifter comes in. They always came right out for me.

There is also a guibo that connects to the transmission and transfer case. You will see it while you are under there. I believe they are 19mm, I just used two 19mm wrenches and took off one bolt at a time. After that is all off the transfer case will come off and you are basically the same as a RWD E30 from there. I only mentioned things that are different compared to the RWD E30. Obviously there is more to it but if your friend has done a RWD E30 those should be the only things that are different.

It is not difficult. While you are in there consider replacing your seals on the transmission and your RMS. Also search "E30 sloppy shifter" that should give you an idea of the things to replace for you shifter.

Replacing your clutch and all of the parts listed is not difficult at all for anyone who has the experience. Even without the experience you could figure it out it would just take a little longer. Things that will help you complete this job faster and easier are impact gun, lift, transmission jack, plenty of tools and a helper. But they are not needed I have removed the transmission and transfer case in around 3 hours with jacks, jack stands, hand tools and I did it by myself. Don't be intimidated by it. Good luck and be safe.

This does make me seem much more confident about the whole job. Thank you! We have a local wrench-it center where you can go and rent all the stuff you need. I might just take a day off of work and do this there.

[jeenyus]

My wife is pregnent and we will be having a baby!

Sadly I will now have to sell this car. I is a hard decision, but the more I think about it the more it is the responsible decision for now. I wish I could have really done what I liked to this car.

Wish me luck with the sale!

[jeenyus]

Looks like I don't have to sell this! haha! I just read this last post and was wondering what I was thinking, you don't sell e30s...

Anyway, still working on getting this clutch replaced. finally have a garage of my own and the parts needed to replace. Car hopefully will be up and running for the winter season.

[jeenyus]

e30 Homecoming. Glad it's in a garage, but now it's time to get it running again.

[Kershaw]

I did the clutch on my IX last month. It took me 6 hours. Make sure you replace all your shifter bearings while you're at it. The UUC/IE (I have IE, they look the same) short shift kit is a really nice kit. The DSSR is also a really nice upgrade, but you have to have it extended by 3-5mm. That cost me $20 at a local exhaust shop.

also, this http://racehead.com.au/products-page...ng-flywheel-2/

[jeenyus]

I did the clutch on my IX last month. It took me 6 hours. Make sure you replace all your shifter bearings while you're at it. The UUC/IE (I have IE, they look the same) short shift kit is a really nice kit. The DSSR is also a really nice upgrade, but you have to have it extended by 3-5mm. That cost me $20 at a local exhaust shop.

also, this http://racehead.com.au/products-page...ng-flywheel-2/

Thanks for the information.

We were able to disconnect all the driveshafts and bellhousing bolts. Trying to drop it down at this point from under the car. I pretty sure I have all the parts I am looking for or need to complete the replacement the right way. Thanks man.

[jeenyus]

So this car has been a delight. I was able to replace the clutch finally. Did it in my garage with my brother-in-law. This took us a decent amount of time to accomplish. I spent a lot of time cleaning off old oil, grime and rust from as many places as I could. The shaft selector seal was the culprit of lots of leakage (you'll see in the pictures). I ended up replacing the rear main seal, input shaft seal and selector shaft seal. While I was in there, also decided to get a better shifter in there. The first owner of the car had great ambitions to make this a racecar IX. He bought a short shifter specific to the IX. Albeit not being a DSSR, it replaced all the bushings it needed to replace and also provided a shorter shift. I think for free, I am not going to complain at all and just be grateful I had it.



Finally got it out!


The throwout bearing was completely thrashed. It got all over the place. This was the originally issue and reason for doing the clutch job at all.




The flywheel wasn't terrible. I took some rubbing compound to it with a handdrill and an attachment and it turned out pretty good. Flywheel is smoother than my newborns bottom.
Before:

After:


New shifter assembly installed.

No real idea what brand this shifter kit is, but it seemed solid.

While I was in there I also installed the steering coupler I got from IE. That was a bitch to replace.



Got the car back together last night. Cleaned up as much rust as I could with the wire bush and as well cleaned the transmission too from all the leaked oil from the shaft selector.

All-in-all this was a LONG job. It seems as though I spent a lot of time making sure I did all the seals right, waiting for parts, etc. I am happy that I got to do it though, I think it really helped me understand my car a lot better than I did before. Here is the e30 sitting next to my Audi in the garage, post surgery.

[ndfspd67]

Awesome! I have three IX's (two parts cars and one awaiting restoration) I loved reading this thread, seems like you have a good handle on the car now and I love how it has progressed. It helps talking to the right people (You know who you are). Let me know if you need any parts lol. Keep up the great work and you are right, you never sell this car